A Day of Some Confluence

Abstract

A Day of Some Confluence Dennis Nicholson (bio) The day began with her telling me of her dream:a dream much like a part of our life,of dogs and a stream.But dogs not ours—except for Bess—among them a Blue Heeler.Later, by the Koonung Creek which seemed this dayclean enough for dogs,we met four childrenwith a Blue Heeler.The youngest girl said,'Does the German Shepherd bite?'We said, 'No'so she went to Bess—a Beagle-Dachshund crossand the only one that might—and lifted her to her haunches—but Bess was good.'Are they all German Shepherds?' she asked.'No, just Luke; Amber is a Wolfhound cross.' ________ She kept going in deeper, holding up her dress.'Put down your dress, Juliana,' the other kids said.We said, 'Can she swim?'they said, 'Yes.'Soon she was up to her neck.Then she got outand shook herself on us, 'Like a dog'we said and bit our lip.Her brother said, 'she is a dog: she's so hairy. [End Page 178] She has a disease.We call her an apeand so do the kids at school.''That's cruel,' we said.'She must get tired of it.''She likes it,' her brother said and then.'I could tell you a joke about myself but you might laugh.' ________ We came home and as we knew we must one day,read the poems of a woman now dead,whom we were afraid ofas a kid. And as we knew already, they were magnificent. Dennis Nicholson Dennis Nicholson (1951–2000) was a Melbourne-based poet, photographer, and artist. He published work in the Australian Book Review, Quadrant, Island, Overland, Mattoid, the Age Monthly Review, and elsewhere. His artwork appears on the cover of Antipodes for December 2002 (vol. 16, no. 2), accompanied by a note, "About the Cover." The poem published here, for the first time, was found in an unpublished and undated manuscript collection titled "The Fabled Now." Footnotes This poem, which references the poet Anne Elder, a friend of the Nicholson family, comes from an unpublished and undated manuscript collection by Dennis Nicholson, titled "The Fabled Now."—Paul Kane, poetry editor Copyright © 2020 Wayne State University Press